Let Girls Learn (Waache Wasome)

Waache Wasome ('Let Girls Learn' in Swahili) is a five-year program funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) that will work to improve enrollment and retention of adolescent girls in secondary school and influence harmful negative perceptions about the value of girls’ education. Waache Wasome will be implemented in Karatu District of Arusha Region and Musoma Municipal Council, Musoma District Council, and Tarime Town Council of Mara Region.

Over the life of the project, Waache Wasome will reach at-risk adolescent girls and their families, covering 268 communities and 67 secondary schools across the four target districts of Tanzania.

Purpose

Designed as a comprehensive response to address barriers to girls’ education, Waache Wasome will combat gendered beliefs and practices within homes, schools, and communities and empower adolescent girls to aspire to and reach their full potential to learn and achieve. Waache Wasome is rooted in the principle of putting girls at the center of creating their own agency, while simultaneously addressing the intersecting social norms and economic barriers that exist within families, schools, and communities and restrict girls’ access to education. The program will work at institutional, community, and household levels to foster an enabling environment for adolescent girls’ education and change perceptions of the value of girls, while also engaging and empowering adolescent girls to be agents of their own achievement.

Implementation

Under Waache Wasome, Bantwana will collaborate with community-based implementing partners on the ground in Tanzania to ensure program ownership at the grassroots level. Bantwana will also be joined by partners with deep technical expertise. Restless Development will support initiatives targeting out-of-school adolescent girls. WGBH Educational Foundation will draw on their successful Design Squad programs around the globe to support science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) opportunities for girls in schools. NORC will conduct a rigorous performance evaluation of program interventions.